Amid other leaders and representatives from the Southeast Asian Nations and representatives from human rights bodies in the region, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (3rd L front row) hands the 'Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the inauguration of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights' to head of Thailand's human rights body Sriprapha Petcharamesree (2nd R front row) during the inauguration ceremony as part of the summit meeting in the southern Thai resort town of Hua Hin on October 23. (Photo: Getty Images)
Asean civil society delegates protest the exclusion of five delegates from a meeting with Asean heads of government. (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Indonesian civil society representative Yuyun Wahyuningrum meets the reporters. (Photo: Simon RoughneenPictures beamed into the Asean summit media center from the informal foreign ministers dinner showed Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win relaxing tableside with his counterparts from the regional bloc.
Later, as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva formally launched the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the six heads of government present joined hands with the 10 commission members on stage, in what was meant to be a highlight of the Asean summit.
Despite the fanfare, the real worth of the AICHR already has been widely questioned. Since the terms of reference for the body were announced earlier this year, the AICHR has been criticized for having a limited mandate.
Aung Din, the executive director of the US Campaign for Burma who testified before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Oct. 21, told The Irrawaddy, "It will be run by government officials. Burma, along with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei, will resist and block any meaningful action proposed by other more open members."
While the AICHR will ostensibly work to promote the concept of human rights, it lacks any method to sanction member states for human rights abuses.
Abhisit acknowledged as much in his launch speech, noting "criticisms by analysts" of the terms of reference for the new body.
As current Asean chair, the Thai prime minister said that the Cha-am/Hua Hin Declaration launching the new commission "showed the commitment of Asean-member states to realize the historic quest of the people of Southeast Asia for freedom."
Activists said that commitment was rendered hollow very quickly, however. Launching the AICHR, Abhisit said that "civil society groups should rest assured that you now have a partner that works for you."
However, 30 minutes later, a delegation of Asean civil society organizations denounced the new human rights commission, saying its attitude to civil society "sabotaged the credibility" of the AICHR.
Earlier Friday morning, a meeting between civil society members from Asean-member states and the heads of government was stillborn.
At 11.30 pm on Thursday night, Thai foreign ministry officials informed the delegates–– elected at a meeting of the Asean People's Forum over Oct. 18-20––that the governments of Burma, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines had vetoed the chosen NGO representatives.
The Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian representatives faced no obstacle from their governments.
In solidarity with their five rejected counterparts, they refused to attend the meeting, leaving the remaining delegates––all hand-picked by the governments––to attend.
Burmese delegate Khin Ohn Mar said that "this attempt to undermine the civil society meeting goes back to the Asean People's Forum, when the Burmese generals sent two former high-ranking police officers to the meeting, and they sought to undermine discussion of all the human rights violations that have been taking place in Burma for many years."
Abhisit said that US $200,000 was available to fund the AICHR, and he hoped more money from Asean and other sources would be made available.
Asean will review the commission's terms of reference every five years to "further develop and strengthen the mandate and function of the body," according to the Thai prime minister, who said that critics should not see the AICHR as “an end in itself, but a work in progress.”
The UN has urged Asean leaders to make the human rights body "credible." However, as Aung Din pointed out, the AICHR could "make Asean more shameful than impressive."
Given that its launch has been juxtaposed with a blatant snub to NGOs representatives from five member-states, this seems to be the case at the outset.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a Democrat MP in Thailand and chair of the Asean Interparliamentary Myanmar (Burma) Caucus, told The Irrawaddy that "this [refusal to meet civil society] bodes badly for the region."
Perhaps the most surprising snub was delivered to Sr. Cres Lucero, the executive director of Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, who said, "Asean governments are undermining the fundamentals not only of the AICHR, but of the Asean Charter, which they themselves set up."
Earlier, reacting to the launch of the AICHR, the Philippine government nominee, Ambassador Rosario G. Manalo, said, "We are very happy today. This is a dream come true."
Of the 10 commissioners who will comprise AICHR, eight are government appointees. Only Indonesia and Thailand allowed human rights bodies to nominate representatives to the new commission.
Sinapan Samdorai, the convenor of the Task Force on Asean Migrant Workers in Singapore, said his government refused to sanction his presence at the meeting.
He told The Irrawaddy, "Singapore has adopted Asean’s lowest common denominator here, by aping the anti-democratic tactics used by the Burmese junta."
After today's events, any expectations that Asean can use this summit to push the Burmese junta into some new concessions on political prisoners or a review of its 2008 Constitution seem far-fetched at this juncture.
Kraisak Choonhavan said, "To outsiders, it must seem that Burma is the most powerful country in Asean, able to dictate the agenda of meetings at will. Moreover, this allows other countries that do not want to respect rights or implement democracy to hide behind this disturbing trend."
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Microsoft Corp.'s stock soared early Friday after the software giant reported quarterly sales and profit that fell from year-ago results but easily beat Wall Street's forecasts.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) rose more than 10% in early trading. It surged as high as $29.35 at the open, hitting its highest level, on an intraday basis, since June 13, 2008.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant said its first-quarter net income fell 18% to $3.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 32 cents per share.
Sales fell 14% to $12.9 billion, topping analysts' forecasts of $12.3 billion. It was the third consecutive quarter in which sales fell from year-ago levels. In April Microsoft reported that sales fell on a year-over-year basis for the first time in the company's 23-year history as a public company.
"We are very pleased with our performance this quarter and particularly by the strong consumer demand for Windows," said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell in a statement. "We also maintained our cost discipline, which allowed us to drive strong earnings performance despite continued tough overall economic conditions."
Some analysts said cost-cutting contributed to better-than-expected results, but it's too soon to declare Microsoft's recent struggles over.
"Microsoft did a little deck cleaning before the start of its fiscal year," said Carl Howe, analyst at Yankee group. "They may have beat expectations, but if I looked at this just to analyze the income statement, Microsoft still had a tough quarter."
Windows 7 expected to be a hit. The earnings announcement topped off a high-profile week for Microsoft, in which it unveiled its new operating system, Windows 7.
Microsoft has been hurt in recent quarters by slumping demand for PCs. But many signs point to a rebound in computer sales, including this week's Windows 7 launch. Though analysts don't expect the new operating system to boost PC sales significantly in 2009, a pickup in sales is anticipated for 2010.
Microsoft said PC sales were better than expected in the last quarter, as sales ticked up by between 0% and 2%. The company said businesses will slowly start to buy new computers starting next year and into 2011.
Sales of Windows fell 38.8% in the quarter and profits from the operating system division were sliced in half. That was mostly due to a deferral of $1.5 billion in revenue from Vista sales to provide customers with upgrade coupons for Windows 7.
The company said Windows sales set an all-time record in September -- an encouraging sign for the company and for the success of Windows 7. Microsoft said it will realize $1.7 billion of Windows 7 revenue in the current quarter -- $1.5 billion from last quarter and $200 million from the previous quarter.
"What they really did was ensure that in this [current] quarter, that division will have very nice looking results, since they are pulling in deferred results from last quarter," said Howe. "So the [current] quarter may look much better as a result."
Cost-cutting drives profits higher: Other divisions posted healthy profit increases, largely as a result of cost-cutting.
In January, Microsoft announced its first mass layoffs in its 34-year history in an effort to bolster its bottom line. The company slashed 5,000 positions, a move that is expected to be completed by mid-2010.
The company's headcount was down 4% in the quarter from a year ago -- the largest yearly staffing decline in the company's history.
Revenue from its entertainment and devices division, which includes the Xbox 360 and the new Zune HD, was unchanged from last year, but profit nearly doubled. The company's server unit also had flat revenue, but profits rose 23%.
The company still failed to turn a profit in its online services business though. That division, which includes MSN, lost $480 million in the quarter. Sales in the division were down 6% from the same quarter a year earlier. The company said search advertising revenue continued to decline, but the industry is showing signs of stabilization.
Microsoft unveiled Bing, its new search engine, in June and agreed to an advertising revenue-sharing partnership with Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) that will begin in 2010. Bing's launch has been considered a success so far, but the company still trails industry leader Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) in the online advertising market.BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, emerged from a hospital for the first time Friday since seeking medical attention more than a month ago.
A well-wisher signs a get well petition for Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The monarch's appearance was televised on local stations.
He was admitted to the hospital on September 20 after complaining of fever and fatigue.
The king was formally crowned on May 5, 1950. Thailand abolished absolute monarchy in the 1930s, so the king wields little political power. But he is revered and enjoys immense popularity.(CNN) -- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, plans to address NATO defense ministers Friday about the next steps for the military strategy.
General Stanley McChrystal took command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan earlier this year.
"As has been said in Washington, I think the analytical phase is coming to an end and probably over the next two or three weeks we're going to be considering specific options and teeing them up for decision by the president," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday after the morning NATO session.
McChrystal is pushing Washington to send 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan amid skepticism from some of President Barack Obama's top advisers.
The general planned to address the NATO defense ministers at a Friday afternoon "working lunch" that will focus on the Afghanistan war strategy, Gates said. Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak will also be present, he noted.
A main focus of the meeting is how to transition power of security to Afghan forces. But that is still a long way off, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.
"We need to start thinking about and planning towards progressively handing over lead responsibility to the Afghan army and the Afghan police," Rasmussen said.
"Now let me be clear: We have not agreed to start handing over the lead. The conditions are not yet right. The Afghan security forces are not yet strong enough."
He stressed that when the transition happens, it "doesn't mean NATO forces leave. It means they go into a supporting role."
NATO's International Security Assistance Force is made up of more than 71,000 forces from 43 contributing nations, including more than 34,000 from the United States